


do i terrify?

by villagepsychic



Series: the devil [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Blood, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Heists, M/M, Oral Sex, Riding, Violence, criminals au, size queen, that tag was not meant to happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 21:17:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/villagepsychic/pseuds/villagepsychic
Summary: Dimitri’s hair falls into his good eye as he reloads his gun and clicks the safety off again. He gives Felix a short, meaningful glance before turning back around before he says, “You know I’ll always have your back, Felix.”“One day I’ll shoot yours,” Felix mutters, but he doesn't mean it. Dimitri’s shoulders shake as he laughs and Felix’s stomach does an embarrassing amount of flips.“Um, guys,” Ingrid pipes up, poking her head out of the door, “your sexual tension is great and healthy and all, but I’m pretty sure we’re about two seconds away from dying right now and I’d really appreciate it if we could get this done and over with.”





	do i terrify?

**Author's Note:**

> reasons for writing this:  
1\. annette's a cute hacker  
2\. felix with a gun  
3\. i'm horny on main

**phase I – krios**

Felix finally feels his patience snap when he hears Sylvain stopping by yet another girl through his earpiece. His honeyed, clearly fake-as-plastic words grate on his ears, and he rubs his temples before gritting out, “You need to get to fucking _ work,_ Gautier. We don’t have all night.”

A crackly pause, and then – “Sorry, princess. I guess now’s not the time. See you later, yeah?”

Next to him, Ashe facepalms so hard Felix almost worries for his nose, and he thinks he hears Ingrid sigh over the earpiece. “You’re such a fucking idiot,” he hisses into his microphone.

“You never let me have fun!” Sylvain whines back. “Dude, that girl was seriously pretty. Couldn’t believe my damn eyes –”

“_Sylvain!_” Felix, Ashe, and Ingrid all snap at the same time, and Sylvain groans.

“Ugh. _ Fine_. Okay. I’m almost there.”

“You better be,” Ingrid grumbles. “I’ve been here for, like, ten minutes.”

“Well, that might be a bit of a stretch…” Ashe starts. “I believe you arrived at your target spot only four minutes ago.”

Her glare is almost palpable through his ears. “Shut up, Ashe.”

“Wow, I didn’t even spend that much time talking to girls!” Sylvain pipes up. “You guys gotta give me some credit here.”

“If you don’t all get to fucking work,” Felix growls, at his wit’s end, ”I’ll make sure to spell _ idiot _ out with my bullets in your chests once I kill you all.”

From somewhere behind him, Annette snorts as she types away. “You definitely don’t have enough bullets for that, Lix.”

“I don’t think he meant it in the literal sense,” Ashe says helpfully.

“Huh?” Sylvain asks, bewildered. “Who are you guys talking to? Did I disconnect with Ingrid?”

“Felix, tell Annette to disconnect Sylvain and I right fucking now,” Ingrid says irritably while Sylvain squawks indignantly, and Felix resists the urge to launch himself out the window, because they’re on the fifth floor of an abandoned warehouse and he’s pretty sure that wouldn’t work out too well.

Okay. In Felix’s opinion, this is going terribly.

In reality, it’s going pretty well – as well as the biggest heist they’ve pulled yet can go, at least. Ingrid’s already situated at the top of their target building, a mansion the size of a small castle belonging to one of the richest conglomerates in the country. If all goes well, the security guards will stay away from her part of the roof while she does her work. Sylvain’s infiltrating from the inside as a guest for an annual gala their target hosts while Annette reroutes systems and connections and eats away slowly at their infrastructure, which is apparently one of her favorite hobbies, as she’d informed them at an earlier meeting (Felix _ really _ doesn't understand her). She isn’t doing that quite yet though, instead poking and prodding at the barriers. “You guys are set to head out in a few,” she says distractedly now, peering at something on her screen in the low light of their makeshift meeting room, and a rush of involuntary adrenaline fills Felix.

He likes to think he and Ashe have the biggest roles in this scheme, really, but in a sense, all their delegated tasks could make or break the success of this mission. It all hangs on a thin thread, tethered by both Dimitri and Byleth’s tactical skills and pure chance. And maybe that would make anyone else cower, but to Felix, it’s absolutely _ satisfying,_ because no room to fuck up always means more excitement.

Ashe, on the other hand, does not seem to agree. “I’m worried that something will go wrong and this’ll all blow up in our faces,” he murmurs as they head towards the elevators after wishing Annette good luck. “I mean, we’ve never done anything this big before.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Felix says dryly, shutting off his microphone so Sylvain and Ingrid don’t get distracted. “What made you realize that?”

“_Felix,_” Ashe whines, hitting him lightly on the arm as the doors ding open and they step inside. “I’m being serious! Remember when we had a simple theft mission and Sylvain almost ruined it because he kept flirting with a girl?”

Ah, yes. He remembers that _ very _ clearly, because he’d gotten a bullet graze to his leg where Sylvain was supposed to be covering for him while he worked a lock. “Don’t remind me,” he grumbles.

Ashe laughs lightly, but Felix can tell he’s more shaken than he usually is. “I’m just saying. Putting Sylvain on this type of recon duty probably isn’t a very good idea. I’m sure there’ll be an abundance of pretty girls for him to get distracted by.”

Felix examines his fingernails. “No, I have faith in him, as loathe as I am to admit that. He knows when he has to be responsible.”

Ashe glances at him. “Well, I guess you’re right. Sorry. I’m just – I’m nervous.”

“I couldn’t tell,” he drawls, but there’s never any heat behind his words, and Ashe just rolls his eyes.

When the elevator dings again to signal them at the ground floor and the doors open, the first person Felix makes eye contact is Dimitri, who paces back and forth, while Byleth leans against a wall and Mercedes sits at one of the tables. When Dimitri sees them step out of the elevator, his lips pull up into a warm smile, uncharacteristic considering the circumstances, and Felix’s chest warms despite himself. “Dedue just arrived at the hotel,” he says, “so he should be ready for you to leave in a few minutes.”

“Sounds good,” Felix replies easily, trying and failing to ignore the way Dimitri’s gaze lingers on him. “Where are my guns?”

“Over with Mercedes,” Byleth says. His eyes are piercing when he adds, “Ashe, you get ready. I need to speak with Felix for a moment.”

Felix trods over to Byleth with raised eyebrows, noting the way he stands straighter and beckons Dimitri to come towards him as well. When the three of them have formed their own little circle, he says, “There’s a possibility that other groups will show up. They’re all looking for their own success. You know how it is.”

“Of course,” Dimitri sighs. His hair’s tied back, bag already slung over his shoulder. He looks like a regular college student in his casual outfit, or maybe a fresh-off-the-boat employee at some white collar job, but his eyepatch makes him look dangerous in the low light, a strange kind of beautiful that Felix marvels over constantly despite himself. His electric blue eye is sharp as he glances at Felix and adds, “You both need to be careful.”

“I’m not an idiot. I’m aware,” Felix mutters without malice. 

Byleth doesn't even spare them another glance as he hands Felix his guns, a small pistol and a sniper rifle he straps over his back. “I don’t expect you to use that,” Byleth says with a small frown, gesturing at the long, thin weapon. “This mission is up close and personal.” 

Felix shrugs, feeling his lips pull up into a smirk. “Just to be safe.”

Byleth smiles a small smile, blue hair falling into his eyes as he shakes his head. “Whatever you say.” 

His belt already has knives strapped to it. He’s keeping it lightweight, wearing his leggings, thigh-high boots and a thick black cotton shirt that ends at his wrists and carefully hides the extra lockpicks sown into the inside of the cuffs by none other than Mercedes. They’re only really there in case some sort of complication occurs that causes Ashe and Felix to split up before they get to their target, because Felix can pick locks but he can’t hold a single flame to Ashe’s prowess in this field – and this target, he thinks, is possibly too complicated for him to even _ think _ about getting through on his own. This places the pressure on Ashe, which he knows makes the gray-haired man nervous, but he supposes that can’t be helped.

“All ready over here,” Mercedes says cheerfully, and Ashe turns to face them with bright eyes. He’s been wearing a sweater and dark jeans, which Felix doesn't really think provides much in terms of agility, but he chooses not to ask. His tool belt, he knows, is filled with pouches of picks and different locks that he practices on when they’re traveling long distances or when he’s nervous, but he has a dagger and his own pistol strapped as well, and Felix raises an eyebrow. 

“I didn’t think you’d be up for fighting tonight,” he says.

Ashe shrugs. “I mean, just in case, right? I have extra ingredients in case something goes wrong with Ingrid and Dedue,” he says, addressing Dimitri and Byleth and tapping a pouch off to the side of his belt. “But I think they’ll be all good. Um, hopefully.”

“Hopefully,” Byleth agrees. “They’re smart, though. They know what they’re doing.”

“What are you guys gonna do while everything goes down?” Felix asks curiously. “Don’t tell me you’re just gonna hang out here.”

Dimitri chuckles. “Of course not. We’ll be hanging around the target, don’t worry.”

“Mercedes needs to be around just in case something happens,” Byleth adds, giving her a short glance, “and I’ll be with Annette.”

_ Just in case_, he hears layered again under his voice. Felix is pretty sure he’s heard those three words a million times today, but such is the life of a criminal, he thinks. “Alright then,” he says slowly, “You… be careful.”

Byleth snorts. “You too, Felix.”

“I’ll drive you to the hotel,” Dimitri says, dangling keys from his long fingers and grinning when Felix frowns at him. “I know you can drive, but I have things to do as well.”

“Whatever,” Felix mutters, but he doesn't stop Dimitri from leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead, feeling his cheeks heat up involuntarily while Mercedes doesn’t bother to hide her giggles. Ashe openly _ claps_. “C’mon. You know this isn’t the time.”

Dimitri raises an eyebrow good-naturedly. “I don’t think it’s ever really _ the time _ when you’re a full-time criminal, Felix.”

Felix doesn't stop his smile. “That’s exactly my point.”

“_Ooh, _now make out!” Ashe teases cheerfully as he grabs his own backpack and throws it over his shoulders. “Shall we leave?”

They all glance back at Byleth, who nods determinedly. “Go ahead. Good luck, you three.”

“Stay safe!” Mercedes adds. “And _ please, _you guys, don’t be prideful. If you need me, don’t hesitate to ask Annette to hook each other’s systems up, okay?” She glares (Mercedes’ version of a glare is really just a soft, stern gaze) at Felix when she says this, and he sighs.

“Fine,” he grumbles.

“Say it with me,” She says, as if speaking to a child. “If you need help –”

“– don’t hesitate to ask for it,” Felix says irritably. “Okay. I get it. Can we leave now?”

Byleth chuckles. “Get out of here.”

The car parked inconspicuously between two others three blocks down is sleek but not overly fancy, dark blue and small, and Felix scowls at the unfamiliarity. “When the hell did we get this?”

Dimitri’s smile is small and secretive as Ashe climbs into the back. “Annette and I went… _ shopping,_ the other day. She’s very demanding. That’s all you need to know, really.”

“I’m not gonna protest against that,” Felix mutters. “I don’t think I want to know the details.”

Dimitri laughs, the sound warm and startling in its juxtaposition to the cool night air, and Felix hates how it makes his heart flutter even on a mission this important. “Oh, you really don’t. You really, _ really _ don’t.”

The hotel’s close enough to reach easily but far enough away for it to not be suspicious, and the parking garage next to it stands completely still as Dimitri pulls in and parks at the end of the second level. It’s a silent car ride, save for the clicking of Ashe’s locks and the sound of Dimitri humming a soundless tune underneath his breath. Felix is ready to step out onto the concrete as soon as Dimitri puts the car in park, but his arm darts out surprisingly fast and holds him in place, shocking him into yelping embarrassingly while Ashe makes a confused noise from the back.

“What the _ fuck,_” Felix hisses. “Dedue’s waiting, isn’t he?”

“Just a moment,” Dimitri murmurs, before he turns his microphone on. “Annette, did you disable the cameras?”

“Yup!” Annette says, cheerful voice filtering into all three of their speakers. “As soon as you guys started pulling in. Rerouted some traffic lights as well, just to make sure you didn’t get followed. You have approximately two minutes before the cameras come back on!”

Trust Annette to sound so happy giving them a time limit until they get discovered by the security guards. “Thanks, Annie,” Ashe says for them both before stepping out of the car. “We have to be quick.”

“Indeed,” Dimitri agrees as he gets out and locks the car before throwing the keys inside and shutting the door.

“What the...” Felix starts, before dragging a hand over his face. “You know what? I don’t care to get caught up in the little details of this.”

“That was a perfectly good car,” Ashe bemoans, and Dimitri chuckles.

“We’ll find a better one later.”

_ Two minutes _ means there’s a clock ticking off in Felix’s head already, counting down the seconds until everything repositions itself back to normal and a particularly hard working security guard notices the three of them wandering around the parking garage. Thirty seconds to get down to the first floor, he thinks, and then twenty to find the valet door where Dedue’s situated. One minute and ten seconds for Dedue to work his magic, and then they’ll be off.

Except he conveniently forgets Dimitri is with them, and he also _ conveniently _ forgets that his boyfriend of two years is a sentimental sap and pulls him off to the side while Ashe quietly but knowingly turns away. “Felix,” he says softly, voice almost too loud in the dark of the parking garage, “Please be safe.”

“I always have been, haven’t I?” Felix snaps. “We don’t have much time, Dimitri.”

“I’m aware,” he murmurs, pulling Felix closer to him and cupping the back of his neck almost carefully, body heat not unwelcome against him, and he closes his eyes by instinct when Dimitri’s lips press against his.

He hates it, but Dimitri’s mouth always has a certain _ effect _on him that he can’t bother to deny, making him lose track of the task at hand as soon as Dimitri’s deepening the kiss and pressing a little closer. Felix lets out a noise of protest despite himself when Dimitri pulls away too soon, opening his eyes and glaring at the taller man. “Are you serious?”

Dimitri’s good eye is solemn. “I love you, Felix. Be careful.”

Felix doesn't get to insult him like he wants to, because Ashe interrupts them, feet tapping against the ground impatiently. “Guys, we have a minute to get out of this garage and situated. I think we should leave. Doesn't that sound like a great idea?”

“You’re such an _ idiot_,” Felix grouses at Dimitri as he laughs and shakes his head. “If I die tonight, I hope you fucking know how much I hate you!” He has to yell the last words, because Dimitri’s already jogging off towards the stairs. “Fuck you, boar!”

Dimitri doesn't even flinch at the name he labels his term of endearment, instead calling back, “Love you too, Felix!”

“Fucking dumbass,” he mutters under his breath as he starts chasing after him, but he doesn't stop the fondness from unfurling in his chest and making a part of him ache just a little bit.

“Ah, the joys of modern love,” Ashe jokes, but it’s completely lost on Felix. The gray-haired boy sighs as he starts jogging after them. “God, I _ really _ hope we don’t die tonight.”

**interim**

The first time Felix kills for Dimitri, it’s an accident.

There’s a certain kind of thrill, he thinks, that comes with coming _ so close _ and holding back at the last second, knowing that a higher body count means more guilt and trepidation stacked up against him. Not that he prefers to torture anyone or elongate anything – but what he does know about being a criminal is that everyone is brutal, and cruel, and willing to do anything to get to their goal. Often times that goal is money, and it’s a race to the finish line to see who can get there first.

But none of this is to say Felix is totally, one hundred percent comfortable with killing people, even now, years after getting into the whole business of it. He especially wasn’t comfortable back then, too, he knows. And he knows Dimitri’s aware of it too.

It’s a marvel, how Felix still manages to find the good in Dimitri after they finish a job together, Felix’s knees nearly wobbling with nausea as Dimitri gave him a surprisingly cold glance. He flicked specks of quickly-drying blood off his skin. “Felix,” he said lowly, “this is how things have to be.”

“I know,” Felix snapped. He was eighteen and rebellious and tried to aim for the guy’s wrist like Dimitri had showed him only weeks before, but rebellious also means _ hotheaded_, and he’d accidentally shot straight into the guy’s stomach instead. He fell, groaning and dropping the briefcase filled to the brim with money – the entire reason why they were there in the first place – and when Dimitri checked his pulse with gloves on, he looked up at Felix with a grim look on his face.

“I know you know,” Dimitri said, frowning. “I just think you need a reminder.”

“No, I don’t.” Felix dragged a gloved hand over his face and shrugged his rifle over his shoulder, refusing to glance back at Dimitri as he started stalking away. Dimitri sighed as he picked up the briefcase and followed after him.

“Felix –”

“Stop saying my _ name,_” Felix hissed, because he couldn’t help himself. “Stop acting bothered by other people’s deaths after missions. Stop killing them mercilessly and then telling me that’s how things have to be anyway. It’s – it’s ugly to watch. I don’t like it. This all makes me fucking _ uncomfortable_, but I’m sure you don’t care about that.”

Of course, Felix is not kindhearted in the slightest.

There’s never been any sort of mechanism in his brain telling him to hold back, to be _ nice _ to all the targets they’ve gone after with orders from Byleth. He’s always figured that if they can deceive and hurt and kill to get where they want to go, then they can stand to take a few hits. But there’s always been something so unnerving about Dimitri’s ability to go blank during the missions they’re on together that leaves him nervous and standoffish from someone he admires as much as he admires Dimitri, not like he’d ever tell him the back half of that statement. But Dimitri knows. He knew then, too, with the way he kept pace with him silently, contemplatively, before he said, “You know these people aren’t good people, Felix.”

“Stop telling me what I do and don’t know,” Felix said, trying to sound angry and coming off more exasperated than anything. “It’s annoying. You’re annoying.”

“Okay,” Dimitri said slowly. “Okay. I apologize.”

“Can you please,” Felix gritted out, “stop talking.”

Here’s the thing – Felix only joins when he’s sixteen years old and rebellious. Byleth finds him on the streets and takes him in and shows him how to hold a gun and wield a knife and slip in and out of houses to listen in on secrets and steal silently, like a shadow or the monster that hides in the corner of your room, just out of sight. Dimitri is only months older than him, and yet he’s been around for what feels like forever. His presence is overbearing. His monsters leer behind him stronger than Felix’s ever had, which is a feat of sorts. Felix is equal parts sorry for the boy he’d come to recognize by then as a reluctant partner, and equal parts disgusted by the way he blends his monsters and trepidations with his charming smile and the way he looks with a gun in his hands – bright and alert and _ alive. _And he hates to say it fascinates him, but it does.

Felix grows used to it over time, because he has to. Mercedes and Ingrid join on later, Mercedes bringing her medic skills and Ingrid her uncanny knack for demolitions. And after a while, he realizes he really is the only person that sees Dimitri for what he is – and maybe that makes them closer with each other. He doesn't know. What he does know is that they’re awfully good partners in crime, and so things will continue being this way.

**phase II – atlas**

Dedue has a polite, peaceful smile on his face when he addresses the couple, his clean, pressed black valet uniform a stark contrast to his naturally white hair. “Any preferences for where you’d like me to park your car, sir?” He asks the man Felix thinks is named Henry – but then again, he hasn’t really been paying attention, choosing to silently work out the logistics of their next steps in his head from where he and Ashe wait silently in a small dip in the earth, patiently waiting for Dedue to finish his first part of the job.

“Of course not,” the man says, smiling widely. Luxury practically hangs off of him and his wife in their jewelry and clothing, and Felix curls his lip in disgust. How Dedue manages to keep his smile relaxed and his fists unclenched mystifies him. “You can put it wherever you want. We’ll be taking a taxi to the gala tonight.”

Ashe is practically vibrating next to him. “This is perfect,” he hisses, and Felix elbows him to keep silent.

“That’s the fucking _ point, _Ashe.”

“Oh,” he replies after a moment of contemplation. “Huh. I didn’t think about that.”

“Of course you didn’t,” he says flatly, and Ashe childishly sticks his tongue out at him.

“It’ll be safe,” Dedue promises smoothly from the parking office doors, lowering his head when they walk by. Then he looks up again, this time straight at them, eyes piercing even in the night. An involuntary chill runs down his spine at the sight. 

But his lips curl up into a small, secret smile, and he slips into the car and shuts the door before he’s revving the engine and driving off, and Ashe and Felix make to sneak after him. 

For a brief moment, Felix wonders where Dimitri is. He’d disappeared once the three of them reached the first floor, going the opposite direction and waving Felix off when he tried to ask where the fuck he was going off to, and he instinctively searches for him in the dark. Ashe tugs on his sleeve lightly, pulling him out of his thoughts as he sends him a knowing look.

“Dimitri’s fine,” he says. “Right now, we need to get to Dedue.”

“Whatever,” Felix grumbles. “I wasn’t even worried about him.”

“Of course you weren’t,” Ashe says lightly, completely ignoring the murderous glance Felix casts him in favor of running towards Dedue, who pokes his head out of the window of the car and beckons them towards him. “Dedue!” He exclaims as he climbs into the front seat, with far too much childish excitement for someone about to break into a mansion and steal a couple million dollars. “I must say, you look absolutely _ dashing._”

Felix can practically see the red tint to the older man’s cheeks even in the dark. “Well… thank you, Ashe. It’s rather stifling, however.”

“Mercedes packed a change of clothes for you, so don’t worry,” Ashe reassures sweetly, and Dedue smiles.

“I’m glad. You both are too kind.”

“We don’t have time to suck face,” Felix snaps from the back. “Just to let you both know.”

“Don’t even _ start _, Felix,” Ashe laughs, shaking his head while Dedue’s hands tighten on the wheel out of embarrassment. “Dedue, don’t listen to him. Let’s head out!”

“You can check my bag for a laptop,” Dedue murmurs as he pulls out of the hotel’s entryway and onto the road. “The laptop is connected to the camera Sylvain has on his tie. He is disconnected from all of us to better focus on his current task, but we’ll be able to see everything he sees.”

“We should place a bet,” Felix says as he leans onto the shoulder of the passenger seat, “on how many girls Sylvain will most definitely hit on at the gala.”

Ashe snickers as he shimmies the laptop out of Dedue’s bag and opens it, typing in the password with ease like he’s been on it a million times before. Felix decides against commenting on it, lest Dedue get so embarrassed he accidentally swerves and kills the three of them in a freak crash with a tree. “Twenty bucks he’ll be flirting with a girl as soon as we open the camera.”

“Twenty bucks he’ll be flirting with _ two _ girls as soon as we open it,” Felix jokes. Well, he’s half-joking. He wouldn’t put it past Sylvain to pull that, seeing as he’s managed to woo an entire group of girls at once several times. Sylvain’s just like that. It’s kind of disgusting, really, but Felix has been used to his shit for years now and only ever finds it in him to confront his best friend about it when it interferes with a mission (Which it has. Several times).

“Twenty dollars that Sylvain will be doing his job,” Dedue says, sounding wholeheartedly uncertain of his own words, and Ashe and Felix both laugh in unison at the sheer ridiculousness of that thought process.

Until Ashe opens the camera, of course, to the view of one of the mansion’s back rooms. Sylvain’s hard at work on sifting through a file cabinet, lifting papers out to examine them for a moment before putting them back. Both Felix and Ashe gape at the sight before Dedue cuts through and says, “I believe you two owe me forty dollars?”

“What the heck,” Ashe says, while Felix splutters for a moment. “I mean, maybe if he flirted before he went! You never know?”

“If he did, he most likely did it to keep up appearances,” Dedue points out, and Felix throws his hands up.

“_Fine. _I give up. Ugh. Sylvain, you failed me on this.”

“We are about to break into a mansion, and you are fixating on your best friend doing his job correctly...?” Dedue asks, eyeing him through the mirror, and Felix snorts.

“Well, duh. It’s _ Sylvain._”

“Alright,” Dedue says, sounding defeated. “Okay.”

“This was so anticlimactic,” Ashe mutters, even as he continues watching. “But anyway, we’ll know when he’s done. Byleth said we should be ready to get in by the time Sylvain comes back out for the distraction. Are we almost there, Dedue?”

“We’ll be pulling in in just a few minutes,” Dedue murmurs as he makes a turn, and Ashe shuts the laptop to put it back into his backpack.

“I know I’ve said this a million times already,” he announces quietly, “but I’m really, _ really _ nervous for this one. I don’t know. It just feels so – I don’t know, dubious? There’s so much room for mistakes to happen, and like, Byleth didn’t even take the chance to explain all of it to us.”

“What do you mean?” Dedue asks, genuinely curious, and Felix resigns himself to the incoming pep talk with a sigh as he leans back in his seat again. Outside, trees and the occasional large house pass by, and he wonders how long they’ve been in the car, and how close they are to getting to where they need to be in time. 

“Like, all I know is that you and Ingrid are gonna be doing demolitions while Annette does her own thing and Felix and I break in. Sylvain’s looking for stuff, but I don’t even know what it is he’s searching for. Where are Byleth and Dimitri?” The mention of Dimitri makes Felix jerk a little to attention, stomach swooping as he remembers he has absolutely no idea where his boyfriend is or what the hell he’s up to this time, and he bites his lip apprehensively. “What are they gonna do in case something goes wrong? I –”

“Ashe,” Dedue says gently, and the gray-haired boy quiets, turning his face to him with a small frown. “You must know that Byleth and Dimitri have pored over the plans for this for weeks. I am sure they have solutions for every single thing that might happen tonight. Byleth is smart, and Dimitri is resourceful. I believe we’re all talented enough to pull this off and be completely safe.”

His words must soothe Ashe, because he visibly relaxes in his chair, breathing out a sigh. “I know. Aren’t you guys nervous? Makes me feel a little weird, being the only visibly anxious one here.”

“I’m absolutely fucking terrified,” Felix drawls sarcastically from the back. “I’m so scared. Literally shaking in my boots right now, it’s kind of crazy.”

Dedue gives him a sharp look in the mirror as Ashe snorts and shakes his head. “Thanks for that. Totally helped.”

“I can’t say I am not nervous,” Dedue starts seriously, frowning a little, “but I can say I have my utmost faith in Dimitri and Byleth, as well as the rest of you. It is not as though this is the hardest thing we’ve ever done before.”

“It’s just the most intricate,” Felix supplies, “Yeah, there’s more room for error, but just because we’re on a bigger scheme than we normally are doesn't mean it’s necessarily more dangerous. Can you stop worrying about this? We’ll be fine.”

“If we get arrested, I’ll be rubbing this into your face,” Ashe warns.

Felix scoffs. “If we get arrested you’ll be too busy crying yourself to sleep every night, you idiot.”

“Listen,” Ashe argues for a moment, before pausing, and Dedue chuckles.

“Let us not argue about this.”

Just then, his earpiece crackles static in his ear, and Felix jumps as Annette asks, “Are you guys even there yet? Stop fooling around!”

“Are we there yet,” Felix asks Dedue flatly, before sighing. “Annette, you can’t just show up unannounced in my ear like that.”

“Sorry, Lixie,” Annette says cheerily, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “But didn’t you know? It’s time to start phase three!”

“Oh, _ great_,” Felix says, not really meaning it. “My favorite phase.”

“Your favorite what?” Ashe asks, obviously confused, and Felix sighs, exasperated as Annette’s instructions start filtering in.

**phase III – helios**

Their communications system is limited, an issue Annette had frustrated herself over initially before resigning herself to the fact that she, indeed, is _ not _ all-powerful. Not like Felix would know, because he finds her computer skills fascinating enough to be able to sit through her ramblings about the latest hacker shortcut or the best companies to crash without zoning out, which is a real feat in his eyes. “Lix, you’ll be on with Dimitri, Ingrid and I tonight, but Dimitri won’t be able to connect right now,” she says into his ear now, sounding only a little nervous despite her earlier cheer. “But he’s all good! If you need to connect with someone else, just let me know. Um, Mercedes said to tell you that you better connect with her if you get hurt.”

“Mercedes is such a fucking mom,” he mutters as Annette giggles, and Dedue and Ashe give him weird looks from where they’re speaking quietly with each other. He waves them off and points at his earpiece as explanation. “What about Sylvain?”

“Sylvain’s on with Ashe! So are Mercedes and Dedue. Just disabled the gates’ system and the guard's off checking out a certain… _ mysterious mishap _ that occurred all the way across the mansion, so you can tell Dedue that. Isn’t this just so convenient?” She says, tone mischievous.

“Annette, I fucking love you,” Felix announces into his mouthpiece after relaying the information to Dedue, and Annette snorts.

“Don’t let Dimitri hear that one.”

“Dimitri has two hands, you know,” another voice crackles in, and Felix realizes it’s Ingrid. “Let’s focus. Once you guys get situated, find a rope hanging from the roof. It’s next to that huge tree on the edge of the grove – right side. There’s a dirt path that leads off the direct one. It’s supposed to branch around the estate, but leave the car in the grove. It’ll provide you guys with ample cover, and the guards are off the roof. Guess they weren’t super worried about a demolitions expert finding their way up here.” Her voice turns wry with dry amusement. “They’ll really have it coming for them.”

“They will indeed,” Felix murmurs as Dedue pulls into the gateway without any problems and follows Ingrid’s instructions carefully, turning into a dirt path that shakes and jostles the car. “I can’t believe a bunch of young adults are about to break into a mansion during an annual gala led by one of the richest bitches around.”

“Just another day!” Annette says cheerfully.

“Well,” Ingrid says, “if we die tonight it’ll be our _ last _ day, so there’s that.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Annette mutters, and Felix can’t help but chuckle. “Felix! Are you laughing at me?”

“Absolutely,” he confirms calmly, and Annette huffs in annoyance.

“See if I sing for you anymore, you damn brat.”

“Annette _ sings for you?”_ Ingrid asks incredulously.

“Aren’t you supposed to be fucking setting up?” He asks, irritable.

“Yeah. I’m _ done, _you idiot. Isn’t it obvious? I’m just waiting for Dedue!”

“Well, shut up anyway,” he mutters.

Dedue pulls into the clearing Ingrid described and puts the car in park. Ashe steps out and peers at the side of the estate’s brick wall before he seems to catch sight of the rope, because he pokes his head back in and gestures at Dedue and Felix to climb out. Once they do, he eyes the car dubiously. “What are we gonna do with this?” He asks. “Did Annette tell you?”

Felix shrugs. “I’m sure Byleth has it figured out. We have more important things to worry about right now.”

It’s a wordless climb up the wall and onto the roof once Dedue’s changed and ready, Ashe climbing up nimbly and Felix right on his tail, Dedue lumbering up with surprising agility right afterwards. The roof of the mansion is vast, sloped at some parts and flat where they stand. There’s a dip where he knows Ingrid is, but Ashe still makes them take it slow until they reach her.

Ingrid’s sitting cross-legged on the ground next to a large marked circle. She’s sifting through her backpack, a mask on her face, and she doesn't even look up as she says, “Took you guys long enough.”

“Sorry,” Ashe breathes, opening the pouches of his toolbelt. He’s already on edge again, nerves seemingly sated when they’d found Dedue, but his fingers shake minutely and he keeps pushing his hair out of his eyes. “Um – Felix and I should probably head out. Do you guys need anything?”

Dedue eyes the markings as he takes the mask Ingrid wordlessly hands him, and then sets his bag down, taking out a paint roller and a tub of paint, and Felix wrinkles his nose. “I think we’ll be fine,” the bigger man murmurs, casting Felix a glance and Ashe a softer look, “good luck and stay safe, you two.”

“Don’t go dying on me yet,” Ingrid says airily. It’s her way of saying _ please don’t die I think I’ll lose my will to live if you do,_ really. Ashe nods solemnly.

“You too, guys.”

“Why does everyone keep acting like we’ll all die?” Felix grumbles. “At most, we’ll get arrested, and Byleth will have to break us out. That’s not even that bad. And why are you guys using _ paint? _”

“What if I just felt like using some paint?” Ingrid challenges. “_ You _ aren’t the demolitions expert. Dedue and I are, which means you can’t ask any questions.”

“I take it back,” Felix says flatly. “I hope you die tonight.”

Dedue gives him a disapproving look while Ashe gasps. “Felix, you can’t just say that!”

“I just did,” he replies, but he doesn't mean it. He glares at Ashe instead. “We gotta go. We have fifteen minutes to get to our target, starting… well, right now.”

“Keep in communication with Sylvain and Dimitri, you guys,” Ingrid warns. “Not that I don’t think Sylvain’s getting distracted right now, or anything. Now, shoo!” 

The last thing Felix hears before Ashe leads him off to the other side of the roof is Dedue saying, “I believe they owe me forty dollars. For believing that Sylvain wasn’t doing his work when he actually was,” and Ingrid’s incredulous noise of protest before she says, “shit, I might owe you money too, then,” and Felix thinks he’ll be really fucking mad if something goes awry in this mission, because he cares a little too much about the people he works with and lives with and would possibly die for. Just possibly. 

**phase IV – kronos**

Ashe slips gloves out from his tool belt and hands a pair to Felix. They’re smooth and black and fit perfectly on Felix’s hands, another gift courtesy of Mercedes’ skills. Ashe’s gloves are gray, and Felix knows the fingertips have miniscule slashes on the insides for his picks and for grip.

The night is quiet on this side of the mansion’s roof, although if Felix strains his ears he can hear the sounds of cars pulling in and people laughing as they enter. Ashe glances at him, eyes startling even in the dark, and says, “Give me the rope.”

Normally Felix would snap in annoyance at getting bossed around, but he knows this is Ashe’s turf now – his only job is to protect him long enough for Ashe to break the safe and take the money before they get out as fast as possible. He bends down to get it from his bag and hands it to Ashe wordlessly, who ties it around himself and hands him the end to tie down before climbing over the edge.

Felix holds the rope steady, loosening it a little at a time as Ashe slides down to the fourth floor’s window, boots gripping the edge of the windowsill as he slowly lets his hands drift from the rope to the glass itself. “There’s a very specific lock mechanism on this,” he murmurs up to Felix, who only grunts in response. “Just give me a minute.”

“You’re lucky you weigh a solid thirty pounds dripping wet,” Felix mutters.

Ashe glances up at him. “I’m just _ so _ lucky you’re so big and strong, Felix,” he demurs, and Felix rolls his eyes.

“I’m still fucking holding onto the rope, so maybe you should shut up and get to work.”

Ashe snorts but otherwise keeps quiet, holding himself upright as he works. It’s silent for a few minutes while Felix keeps the rope steady, and he finds his thoughts drifting once again to Dimitri. He wonders where he is, because Byleth normally has Ashe pair up with Felix _ and _ Dimitri, or Dimitri’s just with Dedue, neither of which is the case tonight – he hates to say it, but it almost makes him worried. Not like Dimitri isn’t capable of handling himself or anything, but as loathe as he is to admit it, he likes having Dimitri nearby when they’re pulling heists like this, and he feels just a little more on edge without him.

Not like Felix _ needs _ Dimitri, or whatever. He’s just – he’s a little calmer, having Dimitri guard his back while he guards Ashe’s. A little less trigger happy, which he finds ridiculously ironic, because he’s spent so much of his early years with Dimitri wishing he could take him out himself.

But that isn’t the point, and he curses himself for being so emotionally driven on a mission like this. He startles himself out of his stupor when Ashe looks up at him with a beam. “I got it!” He exclaims. “Not a super complicated one, actually. Once you get past the main mechanism there’s a series of security measures that you have to evade, and –”

“Ashe,” Felix interjects pointedly, and he pouts. 

“_Fine. _Sorry. Let me just get in here.” With that, he throws himself inside, and Felix leaps down after him carefully, dropping into the room with his bag holstered over his shoulder. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark while Ashe fumbles for a flashlight.

When it comes on, painting the room in a pale, almost haunting color, Felix sucks a breath in. “Ashe,” he murmurs, “this may be the biggest room I’ve ever been in before. This might be bigger than all of our rooms combined, actually.”

“How people get to live this lavishly will always be a mystery to me,” Ashe says, but he’s clearly in awe of the sight.

It seems like a room fit for a prince, almost, a huge king bed with curtains back gracing the middle of the room and a dresser the size of maybe three horizontal Dimitri’s stacked on top of each other sitting up against the wall. Everything’s perfectly tidy, from what he sees. There’s a bookshelf that fits perfectly into the corner of the room and is as tall as the ceiling, every shelf filled with books. Felix doesn't realize Ashe slowly finding his way to the bookshelf until he’s almost there. “_ Ashe_. No fucking book stealing this time around, you idiot.”

“You really think they’ll notice me taking one little book?” Ashe says, turning to him with what he thinks is supposed to be a pout. All Felix can catch are the green of his irises and a bit of his face, though. “They won’t. They literally won’t notice one book.”

“You don’t know that,” Felix counters, “what if they have a servant that comes into this room every day and catalogs every single book that sits in here just to make sure a tiny gray-haired boy doesn't happen to crawl in through their window to take one book?”

“I’m literally the same height as you now! And that’s stupidly specific,” Ashe mutters, downcast as he finds his way to the door, “but I can’t fight with you on it.”

“Exactly.”

The door’s closed, so Felix opens it with caution and is relieved to find the hallway seemingly empty. It’s long and turns sharply left at the end, but they’re only here for two stops. He takes his pistol out anyway, the weight of it familiar in his hands as he leads Ashe down the hallway and through to the other side, heart rate going a little higher than normal at the suffocating silence of it all. 

“You’d think someone would be walking around up here, or whatever,” Ashe mutters as Felix peeks over the corner to see it completely empty as well, lights warm and inviting against the hardwood flooring. “Um, isn’t it super busy on the ground floor? Like, you’d think our target would be a little worried.”

“They’re either an idiot,” he says quietly as he starts walking down the hallway again, “which I _ really _ hope they are, or they’re quietly waiting for us to walk into a trap. Which would be significantly less great.”

“_What?_” Ashe says sarcastically, but Felix doesn't berate him for it, because Ashe only gets sarcastic when he’s feeling extremely nervous. “That’d be crazy. That’d seriously be crazy… wow. That would be real ridiculous.”

“Ashe,” Felix says. “Be quiet. Stop talking.”

Ashe pauses. “Um, okay.”

Every room’s door is shut, and he hears Ashe’s baited breath behind him as they inch down the hallway, Felix’s eyes intently focused on the elevators at the very end. If everything is going to plan, Annette should keep the elevators disabled… for now. But they don’t have all night.

They don’t even have fifteen minutes. The thought makes him scowl and move a little faster, until he leads them to an inconspicuous door near the end of the hallway. It looks exactly like the rest of the doors they already passed, except there’s a padlock on this one, and Ashe gives him a side glance. “Give me, like, five minutes.”

“Your five minutes has started,” Felix says dryly.

Ashe completely tunnel visions when he works on a lock, so Felix takes full responsibility for making sure no one comes in and tries to do something drastic, like kill them. Still, he leans over Ashe’s shoulder as the boy fiddles with the dial, before whipping a pen out and writing a random combination on his skin. He frowns. “Is that the one?”

“What? No, of course not,” Ashe says, sounding distracted. “Just one that doesn't work.”

“So you’re telling me,” Felix starts, suspicious, “that you’re going to write down every single combination that doesn’t work.”

Ashe turns to look at him with a frown. “No. Are you serious? I thought you knew how to break into stuff.”

Felix ignores the embarrassment in favor of scowling at the other boy. “Yeah, I _ can _. You know what? Just get back to work. I’ll check in with Ingrid.”

Ashe smiles. “I can teach you later if you want. Maybe you can use it to break out of our inevitable prison cell.”

“Whatever,” he mutters as he turns his microphone back on. “Ingrid, Annette. You there?”

“Right here,” Annette says, right as Ingrid says, “Yeah. What’s up?”

“What’s the progress looking like?” He asks, keeping his voice low as to not disturb Ashe.

“Oh, we’re nearly set up,” Ingrid says. “Then we’ll need to get away as fast as possible. We’re right on top of you guys, you know.”

“As soon as Ingrid hits the timer, you guys need to get out of there,” Annette warns. Felix glances back at Ashe, still hard at work, and decides not to tell him that lest the boy jump out of his skin with pure anxiety.

“Don’t worry about us,” he says. “Where the hell is Byleth?”

“Good question,” Annette says. “I’m with him right now, but I think he’s busy. I don’t know what he’s doing. Um, we’re pretty close to the mansion. Mercedes is here too! Wanna talk to her?”

“Absolutely not,” Felix says immediately. “How long will the elevators be disabled?”

“Should be for the next ten minutes or so, but if someone tries to get on and it doesn't work, I might have to set it right again. But I’m sure you can handle that.”

Felix sucks his teeth, contemplating. If someone happened to come up to this floor, he’d have to silence them – whether that be permanently or temporarily, he isn’t sure of just yet. “We’ll think optimistically.”

Ashe makes a frustrated noise from behind him and he turns to see half of the other boy’s forearm already marked up. “Just give me a few more minutes,” he mutters. “I think I almost got this, but I lost a number.”

“Take your time” Felix says, and he means it – Ashe is their key to this. “We have a while yet.”

“Yeah, Ashe!” Annette cheers, even though Ashe most definitely can’t hear her and would probably be distracted if he could. “Make us proud!”

Ingrid sighs. “He can’t hear you, Annie.”

“I’m channeling my energy through Felix,” Annette says simply, and he scoffs.

“Whatever. Where’s Dimitri?”

“Gotta know where your little lover boy is?” She teases, stopping abruptly when Felix groans. “_Okay, _sorry. Dimitri’s on his way. I think he was covering up for the hotel valet business, since you guys, you know, stole a car and all that. He’ll be with you in just a few minutes.”

Just then, a soft laugh crackles through into Felix’s ear, and his face heats up when he realizes it’s Dimitri himself. “I didn’t think you’d be so worried about me, Felix.”

“You,” Felix hisses, fingers tightening around his pistol as Annette and Ingrid laugh, “are such a fucking idiot. How could you just disappear like that? Are you fucking serious? Where are you?”

“I did not _ disappear,_” Dimitri says, his usually warm tone coloring petulantly, “as Annette said, I was busy covering up for Dedue. Yes, I am absolutely, one hundred percent serious. And as Annette said – again, I may add – I’m on my way.”

“Annette knows all!” She sing-songs in his ear, and he drags a hand over his face irritably. “She knows _ everything._”

“That’s mildly terrifying,” Ingrid announces.

“I need all of you to stop fucking talking,” Felix snaps, startling Ashe and making the younger man turn around and do his best impression of a glare at him. “Sorry, Ashe.”

“Even me?” Dimitri teases.

“Please shut up.”

“Wow,” Ingrid says dryly. “If I didn’t know, I’d think you guys have been dating for years now.”

Dimitri laughs while Felix growls underneath his breath even as he feels himself relax against the nerves of, well, being on the fourth floor of a mansion breaking into a safe. That’s definitely never done much to soothe anyone’s heartbeats. _ I’m just glad you’re okay_, a part of Felix wants to tell Dimitri, but there are people listening in and so all he says is, “The next time you leave me hanging like that, I’ll kill you, you idiot.”

“I know you will,” Dimitri says. There’s a smile clear in his voice, and Felix hates the way he’s blushing, quietly thanking whatever deity exists upstairs that Ashe is turned around and can’t see him. Maybe they’ll get out of this in one piece, and Felix can beat him up later.

But of course, Felix has the worst of luck, and just when he thinks everything’s calm, _ everything _chooses to go to absolute shit – starting with the elevator door suddenly sliding open.

**phase V – zeus**

Most jobs don’t require every single one of them to participate, which is part of what makes this one such an anomaly – the fact that everyone has a key role in making sure this doesn't go to shit leaves more room for things to fuck up than usual.

According to Byleth, tonight was supposed to be split up into four phases; Ingrid and Sylvain would head out first. Sylvain was tasked with finding the files on their target’s communications and ties, while Ingrid would be tasked with setting up the demolitions before Dedue got there. Dedue was tasked with giving Ashe and Felix the necessary transportation while Dimitri hung back to cover up for him. Annette’s role is arguably the most detrimental to their success – she needed to force a blind eye on everyone, but she also needed to hack into their computer systems. Mercedes would hang back in case something went haywire. Ashe and Felix were tasked with taking the safe.

But when the elevator door suddenly dings open, revealing a pale man in a suit with a gun in his hand, Felix veers off track.

“Keep working,” he snaps at Ashe. “Don’t focus on it.” And then he grabs his gun and shoots before the other man can get to him first, bullets flying straight into his chest and sending the man crumpling against the bar of the elevator. 

“Felix,” Ashe says weakly even as he continues working, “Felix, that’s gonna head straight back down to the first floor.”

“Fucking shit,” Felix growls. The elevator door closes, signalling down. “We don’t have time to worry about that. They probably already know. _ Fuck _. Ingrid, where the hell are you?”

Ingrid’s voice is shaky when she says, “There are people on the roof. Dedue’s keeping them occupied. Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine.” Felix drags a hand over his face before unstrapping his sniper rifle and leaving it against the wall.

“Dimitri’s disconnected,” Annette announces anxiously, “but he’s almost here. God, I’m really sorry. I should’ve kept it locked, but I think Sylvain’s in trouble. Mercedes is heading in now.”

“This is such a fucking mess,” Felix growls. The elevator signals up again and a spark of adrenaline rushes up his spine. “Where’s Byleth?”

“He’s nearby. He told you to –”

Her voice goes to static, and Felix grimaces. “Oh, no.”

Ashe looks at him, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing,” he says quickly, “ but please tell me you’re almost done. We don’t have much time left.”

“If we get flooded, I’ll have to set the timer,” Ingrid warns into his ear. “Then… then everything we’ve done…”

“Will be completely in vain,” he finishes, “yeah, I know.”

Ashe is sweating, focusing intently on the lock as he twists the dial back and forth. “I’m almost done,” he mutters, “just need the last two numbers of the combination. They aren’t clicking yet.”

Felix winces and jogs to the side of the elevator, taking his dagger out just as the door opens again to two men this time, the body gone. Felix stabs one just as he comes out and the man fires wildly, bullets ricocheting off against the wall as Ashe squeaks and kneels, eyes shut as he continues working through the chaos. Felix kicks the man in the jaw and drives his fist into his stab wound as soon as he rips the knife back out, and he collapses. The other man comes at him full force, swinging a punch that he avoids easily, retaliating by shooting his thigh and twisting his arm behind his back as the man screams, forced onto his knees. Felix doesn't bother with his pleas for mercy, finding his pressure point and pushing down until he goes limp and passes out. He kicks the body away, disgusted.

“Remind me to never, ever make you angry,” Ashe says. “One number left.”

“Could you work any slower?” Felix snaps. There’s blood in his fingernails already, and the sight leaves him jumpy and unfocused. “Fucking hell. Are you still connected to Dedue and Sylvain?”

“I-I don’t think Sylvain’s connected anymore,” he replies, holding the cap of his pen in between as he speaks so it comes out muffled and only really serves to grate on Felix’s ears further. “I don’t know what happened to him, but Dedue – yeah, he’s still on, just, um, preoccupied right now.” Then he gasps suddenly as he falls against the door, padlock falling out of his grip. He looks up at Felix with wide eyes. “I got it!”

“There’s still the safe,” Felix warns, but he grabs the guns from the two men and runs into the room with Ashe.

It’s small and windowless. The overhead light takes a moment to flicker to life once Ashe flips the switch, revealing a desk, a file cabinet, and the safe, tucked into the corner. It’s half as tall as Felix and almost imposing in the dark, and Felix gives Ashe glance. “You think you can do it?”

Ashe switches his pen to his other hand, twirling it between his fingers as he stares intently at the safe like it’s a puzzle he’s been meaning to finish but never got the time to. “Yeah,” he breathes, “just make sure I, um, don’t die before then. That would be great.”

Felix snorts. “If Ingrid has to set the timer and we can’t get out in time we’ll both be dead, so.”

Ashe winces. “Let’s just… not think about that.”

It’s blissfully silent for a few moments while Felix busies himself with grabbing his sniper rifle out from the hallway, checking the elevator to see it signaling up again. Ashe mutters quietly to himself, and Felix closes his eyes as he leans against the door. “The next time the elevator opens, there might be way more people.”

“Yeah,” Ashe says, sounding strained, “I know. That’s why I’m trying to move fast.”

He keeps his breath shallow and quiet when the elevator dings open for the third time, shoulder pressed against the wall next to the door as Ashe goes silent for a tense moment. He hears footsteps slowly approaching them, sees the man’s shadow elongate against the ground, inching towards them –

It’s by pure reflexive instinct that Felix doesn't shoot Dimitri in the foot when the man rounds their corner, instead jumping back and yelling “_Fucking hell!_” when the taller male’s imposing form frames the doorway. Even Ashe whimpers embarrassingly loud, dropping his pen, and Dimitri frowns.

“I’m sorry. Did I startle you guys?”

“You have to be kidding me,” Felix chokes out as relief floods his bones, feeling only a little hysterical. Just a little bit. “I fucking hate you. I seriously fucking hate you.”

Dimitri’s smile is wry. “I know you do,” he says but his voice shakes slightly, and it’s then that Felix notices the splatters of blood on his clothes and his hands. There’s some matting his hair, too, and he instinctively reaches out to cup Dimitri’s face. He leans into it naturally, and Felix’s heart thumps.

“What’s happening? How’d you get up here?”

“I managed to sneak in,” Dimitri says, stepping into the room and motioning for Ashe to continue his work. “Everything downstairs seems to be going normally, save for the part where Sylvain got caught in one of the back rooms. They’re keeping the peace down there while they try to… clean up.”

“Is Sylvain okay?” Felix asks, feeling suddenly anxious, and Dimitri nods slowly.

“He’s alright. A little bruised and beaten, but Mercedes is with him. He – he said he saw a few... familiar faces.” Here, Felix’s eyes widen, and Dimitri nods grimly. “But they managed to get out.”

“Permission to come in?” Ingrid says, sounding impatient as she brushes past Dimitri and into the room. She also has blood spatters on her black clothes, but she’s holding a dagger in her hands. She gives Ashe a look and says, “I have the timer with me.”

Ashe nods determinedly. “I’m almost done.”

“I’m staying with Ashe while you guys guard the floor,” Ingrid explains to Felix. “We managed to fight off a lot of the guys down there, but they must’ve been more prepared for this than we thought.”

Felix looks between the three of them incredulously. “Why the hell are you down here?” He asks Ingrid. “Where’s Dedue, then? Where’s Byleth? Christ, this so messy. Is Annette okay?”

Dimitri’s laugh is soft. “Felix,” he murmurs as he takes Felix’s hand in his own, looking sincerely into his eyes, “everything’s as fine as possible, considering the circumstances. We’ll be fine.”

Felix feels a rush of embarrassment knowing Ashe and Ingrid are watching and jerks away. “That’s not what I’m talking about,” he snaps, even though it is totally what he’s talking about, “I’m just saying communication could stand to be a little better. Maybe if you _ told _ me what the fuck was going on, I’d be a little less nervous about all of this bullshit.”

Dimitri frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but just then they hear the muffled sound of glass shattering, and all four of them freeze to look at each other. “You stay here,” he orders Ingrid and Ashe, authoritative tone back as the two nod. He looks at Felix. “We can’t let them into the room. Annette should’ve secured the elevator.”

“We don’t even fucking know how many of them are here,” he hisses but follows him out anyway, shouldering his sniper rifle. It’s almost natural to take up his position behind Dimitri as his boyfriend holds his gun up, kneeling and uncapping the magnifier as he shuts an eye and peers through it. They’ve done this so many times, he thinks, Dimitri acting as brute force with his large frame and reflexes while Felix acts as backup for him, sniper rifle like an extension of his own arm. “They could come from any door.”

“Judging from the noise,” Dimitri murmurs, “they’re probably pretty close.”

When the door opens, Felix doesn't even think – he fires off a round aimed at the guy’s thigh before he or Dimitri even have enough time to look at each other, and he collapses. Dimitri knocks him out for good measure and then turns to Felix with wide eyes. “I almost forgot how fast you are,” he laughs shakily, “where would I be without you, huh?”

“You’d be dead,” Felix says dryly. “Which, honestly, is probably preferable right now.”

“You aren’t still mad about me not telling you what’s going on, are you,” Dimitri says slowly, sounding a little worried, and Felix rolls his eyes.

“I’m absolutely furious right now.” He isn’t. “Focus on the task at hand.”

The next few minutes blur by into seconds. Felix is shocked by the sheer amount of men that come in groups and black suits, and for a moment it almost feels like some cheap action movie – Dimitri takes a few hits, grazes of bullets against his arms and legs, but he doesn't even seem to feel it as he incapacitates everyone Felix gets to with his gun. That’s the thing about Dimitri, he thinks. The contrast between how he acts when they’re in the middle of a job versus how he acts afterwards never fails to mystify him.

Sometimes Ingrid helps, although she’s occupied with defending Ashe from the few people that get past Dimitri and Felix. It’s a marvel Ashe manages to stay calm enough to continue cracking the safe, but Felix knows they won’t last long enough if the police get here. The thought makes him frown and he almost doesn't notice the guy in front of him until he crumples nearly on top of him, Dimitri panting as he shakes out his hand and winces. “That was a close one.”

Felix looks up at him, mouth agape. “Fucking – I could’ve handled that on my own, you know.”

Dimitri’s hair falls into his good eye as he reloads his gun and clicks the safety off again. He gives Felix a short, meaningful glance before turning back around before he says, “You know I’ll always have your back, Felix.”

“One day I’ll shoot yours,” Felix mutters, but he doesn't mean it. Dimitri’s shoulders shake as he laughs and Felix’s stomach does an embarrassing amount of flips.

“Um, guys,” Ingrid pipes up, poking her head out of the door, “your sexual tension is great and healthy and all, but I’m pretty sure we’re about two seconds away from dying right now and I’d _ really _ appreciate it if we could get this done and over with.”

“I agree,” a calm voice says from behind him, and he jumps and turns to see Dedue and Byleth striding out of the elevator in all their glory, Byleth wincing as his arm bleeds. His hair’s matted to his forehead with sweat and his blue eyes are wilder than normal, gripping his gun tightly. “Annette’s got the elevator disabled again, but we need to leave. _ Now_. Is Ashe almost done?”

“Got it!” The boy in question crows just in time, and Ingrid gasps as she stares at the contents of the safe. Dimitri growls as another flood of men come in, and Byleth and Dedue move up to fight with him. Felix lifts his gun up again and fires a few rounds at the three men attempting to surround Dimitri before ducking inside the room with Ashe and Ingrid, both of whom are already getting to work at shovelling the safe’s contents into their respective bags. Ingrid turns to look at him with a glare.

“Don’t just fucking stand there. Help us!”

“I _ know _ that,” he grumbles, before kneeling down to stare at the inside of the safe. It’s filled with wads of cash, hundred dollar bills tied together with rubber bands, and a few files are set off to the side.

“This is the major top-secret stuff,” Ashe says conspiratorially. “And now it’s ours! We’ll know all the dirt on the biggest companies in the country.”

“In my opinion, this shit should be more secure,” Ingrid murmurs, “like, I can’t believe a bunch of young adults are able to get to it. You’d think they’d be a little smarter, but I guess not.”

“We’re getting swarmed by a bunch of security guards,” Felix says dryly. “I’m not sure I’d classify this heist as easy.”

Ingrid snorts. “Near-death occurrences are common by now. Doesn't matter much to me.”

“Says the girl with a ticking time bomb in her pocket,” Felix mutters. Ingrid glares at him.

“This girl can detonate you right fucking now if she wants to, so shut up.”

“You guys are such good friends!” Ashe says jokingly, faltering when they both turn their glares at him. “Okay. Yeah. Never mind.”

They continue working until Byleth pokes his head in, face blank as he waves the okay to come back out. Dimitri’s leaning against the wall, holding his wrist gingerly while Dedue fusses over him. “I’m fine, Dedue,” Dimitri says, sounding a little exasperated as Dedue frowns at a scratch on his forehead. “I don’t understand why you always fuss over me.”

“You are hurt,” Dedue says simply. Felix wrinkles his nose at the sight as he strides up to his boyfriend and kicks him lightly in the shin. Dimitri, of course, doesn't even flinch.

“Stop babying him,” he snaps. “He can handle everything on his own.”

Dedue gives him a knowing look. “Would you like to take care of him instead? I have some salves here –”

Felix winces as Ingrid and Ashe laugh behind him, hissing out “Shut the _ fuck _ up, he isn’t a baby,” while Dimitri squeaks in the most undignified manner known to man. It’s really just ridiculous how he manages to get embarrassed over this with bodies littering the hall and the uncertainty of the immediate future looming over them. Dimitri drapes an arm around him once Byleth starts giving them orders for how to get out and Felix flushes even as he chastises himself for it.

He really fucking hates this whole romance thing.

“We have to get the hell out of here before law enforcement comes or worse,” Byleth warns. He’s injured in his arms and his right leg but doesn't say a thing about it, voice monotone and posture stiff as he adds, “and we need to blow up this section of the mansion.”

“I thought we were only gonna do that in case of an emergency,” Ingrid says uncertainly, and Byleth shakes his head.

“Way too much evidence. The least we can do right now is throw them off until we get far away from here. Make sure you have the money and the files.”

Felix frowns, decidedly ignoring the way Ashe waggles his eyebrows at him at the way Dimitri tugs him closer despite their blood-stained clothes and Dimitri’s mild injuries. “That’s great and all, but how are we gonna get out? I don’t think we can take the elevator down to the first floor and just walk out in full view of everyone, unless you want us to jump out a damn window.” Byleth levels him with a stare, and Felix raises an eyebrow before realization dawns on him and he groans. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”

“We’re jumping out the window?” Ingrid inquires, looking not at all happy about this new development. “Um…”

“We aren’t jumping,” Byleth says. “That would be a literal death sentence. Follow me.”

Ashe shuts his eyes tight as they pick their way across the bodies laying around, and Felix can’t help but pity him as he grabs his rifle and his bag, treading after Byleth’s characteristically brisk pace. Dimitri keeps quiet but doesn't let go of Felix as they walk, but Felix chooses not to comment on it. Soon they’re back in the room Ashe and Felix started out in, the rope still there as they all eye it dubiously. Byleth sticks his head out of the window and peers down, before looking up.

“What the hell are you waiting for,” Felix says flatly.

“A helicopter,” Byleth says simply, like he’d informed them of this earlier (which, no the _ fuck _ he didn’t) and expected them to all know it already. “The police are here. We have approximately four minutes until we’re found.”

Ashe looks like he’s vibrating at a dangerous frequency out of sheer anxiety. His voice wobbles when he asks, “Wh-where’s the helicopter then?”

Felix glances at the door nervously. Even Dimitri and Dedue look anxious, fidgeting and waiting on edge for something that seems so far-fetched… but this is Byleth, and Felix knows he creates miracles from nothing on a regular basis, so he waits with baited breath. Byleth continues looking out the window expressionlessly for a few long moments. Felix is about to snap that they might as well jump to their deaths now when suddenly –

“Oh, _ no_,” Felix says, eyes widening. “You did not let Mercedes and Annette fly a fucking helicopter, Byleth. You did not just fucking let that happen.”

“Mercedes has a pilot’s license,” Byleth says calmly as the helicopter comes in view, Sylvain waving wildly at them from where he’s seated behind the two women. “Didn’t you know?”

“I’m heading straight to my death,” Ashe says faintly as Dedue pulls him towards the window. “I’m going to die.”

“You aren’t going to _ die, _Ashe,” Ingrid scolds, but she doesn't sound very sure of herself. Felix drags a hand over his face.

“We aren’t really going to do this, are we?”

A hint of a smile passes over Byleth’s face as he perches on the edge of the window, hanging onto the rope as if to swing out. That’s probably what he’s going to do, actually. Fucking hell. “Unless you’d like to jump four floors down and hope for the best?”

“I hate you,” Felix snaps as Byleth climbs up the rope to the roof. _ This _ is why he’d told him to leave the rope there, despite Felix’s protests that it did nothing but provide suspicion. He should’ve known. Dimitri laughs at his stricken expression as he drags Felix towards the window with him. “I fucking hate all of you.”

“I’m sure you do, Felix,” Dimitri says warmly as he hands him the rope. The sound of the helicopter is annoyingly loud, and yet Felix hears him clearly anyway. “We’ll go up together.”

**si vis pacem para bellum**

“I’m taking back my agreement to becoming a criminal,” is what Ashe announces as soon as they step inside their home base, a well-kept underground area that connects to a complex they use as a decoy. How Byleth managed to rig _ this _ up, Felix has never even bothered trying to understand. Or maybe someone else had built it and Byleth just kindly took over in their absence. Either way, it’s startling in its glory and still manages to be even though it’s been years since they started using it. The lights are bright and fill every corner of their rooms with its glow, and it veers off in twists and turns past the main commons area, the layout so confusing it would make anyone pause. There are escape hatches here and there too, he knows.

Byleth’s chuckle is barely-there in his exhaustion. “We can’t lose our best lockpick.”

“Yeah!” Annette exclaims as she throws her arms around Ashe’s neck. “You were the key to this, both literally and figuratively.”

“Well, technically we don’t use keys, so it really only can be said in a figurative sense,” Ashe corrects a matter-of-factly, arms settling on Annette’s waist naturally, and Felix raises an eyebrow at the sight, and then looks at Dedue. The man is looking at them both with some sort of weird fondness in his gaze.

_That’s_ _weird_. He decides to make a mental note to think more on it later and also make sure he doesn't ever look at Dimitri like that too.

“Okay, cool,” Annette deadpans. “You know that’s not my point. You’re such a good lockpick, Ashe! If you hadn’t been around, we’d be nowhere.”

“There’s always Felix,” Sylvain says from where he collapses onto the couch, clutching his side from what Felix presumes is an injury.

Ingrid smirks. “Felix isn’t nearly as good at it as Ashe.”

Felix growls. “You’re a fucking bitch.”

“Says the lord of all bitches himself!” She crows, and Ashe frowns.

“Don’t be mean, guys! Right, Dedue?”

Dedue blinks slowly. “I am not sure I want to get in between them.”

“Yeah,” Felix sneers. “Don’t fucking bother.”

Byleth frowns at them as he slips his gloves off, setting them on the counter. “I wish you guys would be more mature.”

“We just made it out of that mansion, you guys,” Mercedes says softly, and everyone shuts up as if on command. Byleth rolls his eyes.

“Go get some rest,” he says, rolling his wrist carefully and not even batting an eyelash when it cracks obscenely. “We’ll continue talking about this more tomorrow.”

“What if they follow us,” Annette frets, wringing her hands together like she does every time they finish a mission. “Then what?”

Byleth’s smile is secretive, almost sinister under the lights. In moments like these, it’s hard to forget that Byleth is the reason why they’re all living a life of high-class crime together. “They won’t find us.”

“That sounds vaguely threatening,” Sylvain says, but Byleth’s already back to examining his injured wrist.

Felix still feels adrenaline sparking his veins even as they all start excusing themselves to their respective rooms. He stalks off to his own room with a huff, feeling the burn of a fight making his blood coil and spring in the most annoying way possible. If given the choice, he’d go out for some target practice – but the thing is, they’ll be holed up for a few days at most until Byleth signals the clear for them to move again, and so Felix is stuck here.

He doesn't even notice a certain blonde man leaning on his door frame, arms crossed, until he says, “Felix,” in a voice softer than what should be allowed from him. Felix is busy dragging his shirt up over and off, gingerly avoiding the wet, bloody spots as he sighs and turns around to rip it over his head.

“What do you want?” He asks. At this point, it’s a precursory statement; Dimitri is aware of it and doesn't comment, because Dimitri knows Felix like the back of his hand.

He takes a moment to observe the state of his room, which currently looks like a fucking shitshow – there’s blood on the ground from where he’s thrown his clothes, and his weapons are strewn haphazardly on his desk. There’s a book on his pillow and his bed isn’t even made. Felix glances at it all with pursed lips before dragging his gaze back to Dimitri, who simply raises an eyebrow at him. “Shut the fuck up,” he says, just in case, and Dimitri’s mouth twists like he’s suppressing a smile.

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Well,” Felix mutters, “you’re saying stuff now, so shut up.”

Dimitri shakes his head amusedly and sighs. “And here I only came to check on you. The price for caring about your boyfriend, huh?”

Felix wrinkles his nose. “I don’t need to you to check up on me, you idiot. I’m fine.”

Dimitri steps into his room with a hum. His own clothes are slightly tattered and bloody, and Felix is starting to think he doesn't even notice the blood in his hair. “I know you don’t need me to check up on you,” he says easily, “but I wanted to. Maybe just to sate my own worry.”

“Okay,” Felix says slowly, biting his lip. “Then… how are you?”

His gaze somehow softens even further. “I’m alright,” he says. “Mostly happy that we’re alive and safe.”

Felix doesn't smile as he takes a step towards Dimitri like he’s a magnet and Felix just can’t help himself. He loops his arms around Dimitri’s neck and his boyfriend stays very still as Felix stands on his tiptoes and presses his lips to Dimitri’s cheek. “We,” he starts, murmuring as Dimitri’s hands settle hesitantly on Felix’s hips, “should probably take a shower.”

“Should we?” Dimitri asks thoughtlessly, and Felix grins to himself at the way Dimitri’s mind always manages to go blank as soon as Felix gets his hands at him. “Um, that sounds… nice.”

“It’ll be great,” Felix says flatly. “You look like you tried to dye part of your hair red and it went terribly.”

“Oh.” Dimitri frowns. “I didn’t notice.”

“You didn’t notice because you’re an idiot,” Felix says easily as he starts to pull them out of his room. “We’ll use your bathroom, it’s way better than mine.”

Dimitri’s room is bigger than Felix’s and a lot neater in the way he keeps his bed made, and his desk is neatly arranged with files and books and paperwork. Felix hums to himself as he grabs a few towels and clothes – grabbing one of Dimitri’s sweaters for himself – and then turns to look at Dimitri expectantly.

Except he’s giving Felix a fond look, and he sneers back. “What are you looking at me like that for?”

Dimitri pauses, before shrugging with a smile. “Nothing,” he murmurs. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m sick of you,” Felix mutters to himself as he steps in the bathroom and turns the light on. “Strip.”

“You move so fast,” Dimitri jokes, clearing his throat abruptly when Felix’s eye starts twitching. 

Felix turns around when Dimitri starts taking off his clothes, not because he’s modest in any way – he could spend an obscene amount of time staring at the dips and ridges and muscles of Dimitri’s body, but he busies himself with turning the water on instead. He slips his own pants and underwear off his legs and drops it unceremoniously on the pile Dimitri’s already created with his own clothes, and doesn't push Dimitri away when he reaches out to brush some hair behind his ear. Felix reaches up to undo Dimitri’s already-loose ponytail, grimacing at the dried blood, and Dimitri hums as he takes out the tie holding Felix’s hair up and combs his fingers through it. They probably make a weird sight, naked and in the middle of a bathroom, Felix staring at a specific point on Dimitri’s neck that he definitely wants to mark up while Dimitri closes his eyes as Felix curls his fingers into the nape of his neck and pushes him down to meet his lips.

Dimitri’s lips are soft, his body pliant against Felix’s arms and mouth, and Felix already feels heat pooling in his gut. It hasn’t even been that long since they last were together – he’s just as insatiable as Sylvain, he thinks, which makes him mentally recoil because he really shouldn’t be thinking about Sylvain when he has Dimitri in front of him like this. Dimitri relaxes in his arms and then chases his mouth when Felix starts to pull away, and he chuckles. “Shower, remember? I’m not making out with you when we’re all grimy like this.”

Dimitri pouts. “Fine,” he says petulantly, before sliding the glass door back open and stepping into the shower’s spray. He gives Felix a thumbs up of approval. “It’s perfect!”

“Thanks,” Felix says dryly, stepping in after him. “I tried my best.”

They wash themselves off quietly and carefully. The bone-deep exhaustion hits Felix by the time he starts washing his legs, and he lets his eyes slip shut. It’s either that or look into Dimitri’s gaze, which he can feel burning into him like a brand, and he’s never been good at holding any sort of eye contact. The shower floor runs red with dirtied water and Dimitri stays clear of his already-bandaged wounds, hissing a breath when he brushes over a particularly painful one, and Felix opens his eyes to frown.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dimitri says immediately, waving him off, but Felix rolls his eyes.

“Turn around, you idiot.”

Dimitri’s hair is wet and matted against his forehead. His eyepatch is still on, and he looks like he’s about to protest but then seemingly decides against it, turning around and letting Felix lift the shower head up to wash his hair. He stays completely still as Felix works, only sighing when Felix reaches up to curl his fingers into Dimitri’s scalp.

His arms start to ache after only a moment and he sighs, gesturing at the corner seat for him to sit. “You’re too tall,” he mumbles.

Dimitri rumbles a laugh. “You might just be too small, Felix.”

“I’ll shoot you,” Felix announces almost immediately, and Dimitri throws his head back to laugh, a beautiful sound that bounces off the shower walls and fills Felix’s ears. “God, would you stay still?”

“Mm,” Dimitri hums, letting his eye fall shut again as Felix washes his hair until the red is gone and his impossibly blonde hair shines through. He lifts the shampoo and hangs the shower head up again, squirting some into his palm and rubbing his hands together until they’re oily and he can curl his fingers through Dimitri’s hair, chest warming at the way Dimitri moves into it, lips parting slightly when Felix tilts his head up and scratches his scalp lightly. Felix knows he likes this. It’s why he does it for him on nights like these, when he knows the guilt of their missions is probably eating him alive despite the fact that he pushes through it anyway.

“I hope you aren’t feeling bad about yourself,” Felix warns. Just in case. Dimitri opens his eye and raises an eyebrow at him. “I’m just saying.”

“I don’t feel awful,” Dimitri admits, “of course, there’s the natural guilt, but… I can’t help that.”

“I know you can’t,” Felix says softly, frowning down at him. He lathers the shampoo on Dimitri’s hair as much as possible and then brushes some of his hair away from his eye patch and off his forehead. He doesn't lean down to kiss his forehead because he isn’t _ that _ soft and he doesn't want the taste of shampoo in his mouth, but he does run a wandering hand through Dimitri’s hair. His head is chest level with Felix. “I know you can’t, but I know you cling to your guilt way too much, Dimitri.”

Dimitri smiles faintly. “I remember when you used to call me boar all the time.”

“Don’t change the subject,” Felix snaps, feeling his face heat.

“I’m not!” Dimitri says with a grin that gives him away. “Those are good memories, aren’t they?”

“Please,” Felix sighs, picking the shower head up, “stop talking.”

He rinses the shampoo out of Dimitri’s hair and marvels at the way it shines golden under the fluorescent lights, running his fingers through it a few more times for good measure while Dimitri preens under the attention. He traces a finger over the sharp, defined line of his jaw as it drips water and thumbs over the curve of his lower lip, nostrils flaring as he breathes in sharply at the way Dimitri’s mouth opens immediately. He smirks at him over the sound and Felix slaps the side of his head lightly in retaliation.

This is all so familiar to the both of them.

“Your hands feel so nice,” Dimitri comments as they get out of the shower, the water already going cold. Goosebumps line Felix’s skin as Dimitri bends down to kiss the back of his neck non-committedly.

“Can we please get out of the shower before you get all over me,” he says, exasperated.

Dimitri snickers. “I believe your requirements before we got into the shower were that we both be clean,” he points out. “We’re fresh and clean, aren’t we?”

“New rules,” Felix drawls as he towels off his own hair as best as possible before grabbing his hair tie again. “Wait until we’re in your room.”

Dimitri frowns at the hair tie. “You should leave your hair down,” he states.

Felix doesn't even think about it. “Whatever,” he mutters as he sets it back on the counter, feeling his still-wet hair brush his shoulders and the back of his neck. He wraps a towel around his waist and then leaves Dimitri in the bathroom to rush out after him as he strides back into Dimitri’s room. He eyes Dimitri’s bed and doesn't turn around to say, “Go sit on the edge of your bed, Dimitri.”

Dimitri raises an eyebrow but complies obediently, towel still wrapped around his own hips as he relaxes against the mattress. Felix doesn't meet his eyes as he stands in front of him and then kneels until his face is level with Dimitri’s covered crotch, and Dimitri’s breath hitches before he says, “Felix, you don’t have to.”

“You’re right,” Felix snaps even as he trails a finger absentmindedly up Dimitri’s calf and leans in, noting the way his boyfriend shivers. He’s so sensitive it’s a little ridiculous, which makes doing all of this a lot more fun. “I don’t _ have _ to. But I want to.”

“I should be doing this for you –”

“Dimitri.” Felix says, an edge in his voice now. “Shut up and let me suck you off.”

Dimitri quiets, but there’s still a frown on his face. Felix rolls his eyes, figuring there’s no way to fix that, and busies himself with circling his fingers around Dimitri’s ankles and slowly dragging his feet apart until his thighs are spread and the towel around his waist threatens to fall apart. There’s something so hot about the way Felix can see a hint of his inner thighs but nothing more, and he moves his hands up to press his thumb into the soft skin. Dimitri doesn't say a word, but Felix doesn't look up to see if he’s smiling or not, because he’s trying to focus.

Felix reaches a hand up to grab the corner of the towel and loosens it slowly until Dimitri’s legs are bare. His thighs are a familiar sight, toned and muscled and scarred like the rest of his body, and he resists the urge to feel it up, opting instead to lean down and press a kiss to his inner thigh. Dimitri opens his legs further as if on command, sitting as patiently as possible as Felix sucks a mark into the skin and admires the red imprint. “Did you even feel that?” He grumbles, disgruntled.

“A little,” Dimitri laughs, “it’s quite pleasurable, although I wouldn’t mind if you… bit a little harder.”

Felix sighs. Dimitri gave up on being shy a _ long _ while ago, clearly. “I’m not mauling you right after we almost got killed,” he says carefully, and Dimitri gives him a faux pout.

“That’s unfortunate.”

He busies himself with marking up Dimitri’s inner thighs in deign of reply, eventually finding his way to the sensitive bits that have Dimitri twitching up against him and gasping little breaths of air that he can’t help but find endearing. He hums as he reaches out to grasp his dick with a soft grip, fingers loose as he strokes upwards, and Dimitri makes a little noise at the back of his throat as his cock twitches.

“What is it?” Felix asks knowingly as he tightens his fingers, skin cool and dry as he just barely gets around to fisting Dimitri’s dick, and his lips twist into a grimace.

“You move too slow.”

“You just need to be _ patient_,” Felix points out easily, tightening his grip at the very tip and trying to pretend he isn’t practically salivating for it in his mouth when it twitches again and hardens further against his hand. “You’ve never been good at that.”

“Neither have you,” Dimitri says, hissing in a breath when Felix cups his balls lightly and reaches out for a taste, eyes fluttering shut of their own accord as he sucks the tip into his mouth. “God, Felix, you’re so cute.”

_ Shut the hell up _ is what he wants to say in response, but he can’t really be fucked to do much more than slide his hand down to the base of Dimitri’s cock and take him a little deeper, suckling and licking at the head of his cock and then the underside. Dimitri isn’t even fully hard yet, but Felix can’t ignore how much he likes feeling it harden in his mouth, thickening and pulsing. It’s a bit deplorable, but he’s given up on caring about that a while ago. He breathes in through his nose before taking it in as far as he can, eyes squeezing shut when Dimitri’s hand comes down to comb through his hair.

Dimitri’s noises are always pretty, but Felix especially likes the quiet whimpers he lets out when Felix does something just right for him. It’s a reminder that Dimitri’s noises are for Felix and despite it all, he still has all of him.

Felix bobs his head up and down until Dimitri’s fully hard before he slides off to jerk him off a couple times, Dimitri’s cock already slick with his own saliva. He doesn't realize he’s staring reverently at it as he squeezes the tip, watching a few drops of pre-cum leak out, until Dimitri tilts his face up to him with a finger under his chin. “Can I kiss you?” He asks. He already sounds so desperate that Felix wants to make fun of him, but he can’t muster up the energy for it.

“No,” Felix says petulantly instead, leaning back down to mouth at the underside of Dimitri’s cock and licking at the vein. He grins, smug, when Dimitri tilts his head back and groans. He reaches down to press his fingers against Dimitri’s perineum and then takes him down again.

This time Dimitri holds the back of the back of his head gently and pushes him down until Felix has to loosen up his throat, and he _ hates _ how his cock twitches at that. Feeling the urge to touch himself, he grips onto Dimitri’s thighs instead and lets Dimitri keep pushing until he knows Felix can’t take anymore, eyes watering despite himself as Dimitri’s cock pulses in his throat. “You’re so good,” Dimitri murmurs, and the praise goes straight to his cock.

He holds Felix there for a few moments, groaning a little when Felix’s throat works around him and then lifts him off by his hair and holds his head back so his neck is arched while he gasps for air and whines helplessly. Felix glares at him through half-lidded eyes, and Dimitri smiles. “Beautiful.”

“Fuck off,” Felix croaks out, reaching out to jerk his cock tightly in retaliation, and Dimitri’s breath catches as he moans involunatrily.

“Oh, that’s _ evil,_” Dimitri murmurs, pushing him back down, and some sort of twisted pleasure rushes through Felix as he swallows Dimitri down again. This time Dimitri uses his hair as leverage to move him up and down on his cock, whimpering at all the disgusting, sticky noises. When he holds Felix down as far as he can go, he reaches a hand down to his throat to feel the outline of it and groans, dick throbbing. “You’re so fucking pretty, Felix, I can’t believe it.”

He rarely ever swears. Felix moans around his cock at the word, and the way Dimitri tugs at his hair, and Dimitri’s hips jerk even further into his mouth, making him gag just slightly. Even so, he pulls Felix off and cups his face, already looking worried. “God, I’m sorry.”

“I’m _ fine_,” Felix snaps, voice only worse than before as he pulls himself up on shaky legs and pushes Dimitri back into the bed. He falls back with a laugh and then scoots up the bed obediently when Felix slaps his leg, rummaging through the drawer for lube.

“Should I…” Dimitri starts uncertainly, and Felix casts him a glare.

“I’m fingering myself open. You don’t get to touch.” Dimitri’s cock twitches helplessly at his words, and he shakes his head. “Fucking insatiable.”

“Sorry,” Dimitri breathes, not sounding sorry in the slightest. He licks his lips when Felix unwraps his own towel and lets it fall to the ground, his own dick already hard as he strokes himself and then swings a leg over both of Dimitri’s thighs, settling himself on his knees as he smirks at Dimitri.

“Like what you see, baby?”

Felix never calls him pet names because it isn’t his thing, but it’s worth it to see the way Dimitri’s lips part, staring at up him reverently. “Yes,” Dimitri says immediately, and Felix scoffs.

“Then don’t take your eyes off me,” he orders. In truth, Felix hates being watched unless he’s in the middle of a fight, but he likes the way Dimitri stares at him as if he’s in awe of Felix’s body, his beauty. He leans down to press a surprisingly chaste kiss to Dimitri’s lips and then sits up again to uncap the lube. “How are you feeling?” He asks as he lathers up a finger with the sticky liquid, waiting for it to warm.

Dimitri blinks slowly, clearly not processing the sudden question, and then says, “I’m – I’m feeling, um, better. You’re good at taking my mind off things. How did you know I was feeling down?”

“Good,” Felix says as he reaches behind himself, “and because you came to me immediately after we got home. You’re not very good at acting calm yourself, you know.” Felix makes sure he’s staring straight at Dimitri when he adds, “I want to make you feel better.”

Dimitri’s breath hitches, and his arms lift from where they were laying at his sides like he wants to hold onto Felix, but one warning look from him makes his arms drop again. “I love you, Felix.”

“I love you too, you fucking dumbass,” Felix mutters, circling his rim with his finger. “Now shut up.”

Fingering himself open has always been a mechanical procedure of sorts to him, a way to get to the main event, but with Dimitri watching him like this, still-wet hair splayed out against his pillow, arms at his side, Felix feels like it’s something more – like Dimitri wouldn’t mind anything he gave him, which is exactly why Felix needs to give him his all. He feels almost wanted, in a ridiculous sense. Even so, the first few fingers never do much for him, and he bites his bottom lip as he presses against his walls and scissors his fingers. He closes his eyes, thrusting his fingers in and out a few times as he pants – already sweating, he notes, and he _ really _ doesn't want to think about another shower – and Dimitri’s cock twitches, leaking against his abdomen. He eyes it a little greedily as he opens himself up. “Your dick is so big,” he notes.

They’re clearly way past the point of embarrassment, especially with Felix being as crass as he is, but Dimitri flushes anyway. “Uh, thanks?”

“I like it,” Felix continues, not even focusing on what he’s saying as he slips his fingers out for more lube, reaching out with the hand supporting him to jerk Dimitri’s cock a few times, smirking when Dimitri groans and pushes his hips up reflexively. “Stay still, Dimitri.”

“S-sorry,” Dimitri breathes, and Felix rolls his eyes.

“Can’t even hold yourself down,” he mumbles, but it’s more fond than anything. Dimitri chuckles just as he slips three fingers into himself, letting out a choked whimper, and Dimitri very carefully stays still again.

He already feels strangely full on his own fingers, and eyeing Dimitri’s dick doesn't help much. “You’re gonna split me open,” he says non-committedly. “God, I wanna feel it.”

“_ Felix_,” Dimitri whines.

Felix rocks back on his fingers, sneering at his boyfriend. “_ Dimitri_,” he whines back in a significantly higher pitch, clearly mocking him, and Dimitri makes a needy noise at the back of his throat. “Be quiet, let me _ finish _ –”

He manages to curl his fingers _ just right _ as soon as he says it, and he almost collapses on top of Dimitri as he moans brokenly. Dimitri’s eye already looks glazed over at the sight, and Felix lets himself play with that spot even as he hands start to cramp up, trying to control his noises, but it’s futile. “Fucking hell,” he grits out. “You wanna fuck me, Dimitri?”

“Yes,” Dimitri growls, looking two seconds away from disobeying Felix and holding him down. The thought doesn't exactly sound terrible, but there’s something so sexy about the way Dimitri could easily overpower him but stays as still as possible even as his cock jerks and leaks. “Felix, _ please _. You’re a vixen.”

“Sure,” Felix says, barely paying any attention to him. “But I’m yours, aren’t I?”

Dimitri’s moan is shattered and fragmented, like he can’t believe his own ears. “I love you so much. _ Please_, I wanna – I wanna –”

“Shut up,” Felix snaps as he slips his fingers out and wipes them on the bed, and Dimitri quiets himself. He slips his eyes shut as he shuffles up a little more and grips Dimitri’s cock to lube it up, adding extra just in case, and then he lines him with with his stretched out hole and says, “You should beg for it.”

Dimitri groans, arms twitching at his side. “I already said please. I wanna feel you, Felix, just let me –”

Felix hums as he presses down on the blunt tip until it starts to press inside, and Dimitri cuts off into a desperate little noise. 

This part always reminds Felix of when they’d first had sex, Felix in the same position because he’d been cocky and overconfident and thought Dimitri couldn’t be too bad, even as his eyes had widened at just how big he was. He’d rocked himself back on the tip, biting his bottom lip in half worry, half-arousal while Dimitri held his hips in an iron grip, and tried _ so hard _ to adjust to take him in and just couldn’t, until Felix managed to get the tip in. It stretched him out in a way he wasn’t used to in the slightest, and his eyes rolled back. Dimitri came to that sight that night with a broken-off, surprised moan.

Two years of consistent practice in between missions now, however, makes it easier for Felix to accomodate for the initial stretch as he lets himself take a moment to breathe, inching his way down his cock and feeling it pulse and throb inside him. Felix doesn't reprimand Dimitri for the way his hands fly up to massage circles into his waist, his boyfriend’s head thrown back as he grits his teeth and takes it, and it feels like a slow descent to hell until he’s finally bottomed out and gasps, trying _ so _ hard not to collapse against Dimitri’s chest. “Fuck, fuck,” he mutters to himself, lips parting, and Dimitri growls in response.

He waits patiently for Felix to adjust to the stretch and burn of his cock, making a small noise when Felix rocks back against him experimentally. “Does it hurt?” He asks, voice shaky.

“Mm,” Felix hums, mind already fogged up. He can feel his own dick twitching and leaking and Dimitri eyes it hungrily. “Doesn't hurt,” he replies. “‘S good.”

“You’re gorgeous,” Dimitri murmurs, bringing Felix down for a kiss. His dick shifts inside him at the action and Felix gasps wantonly into his mouth, swiveling his hips before pulling away to splay his hands out on Dimitri’s chest as he raises himself up before sliding back down on Dimitri’s cock.

Dimitri whimpers pathetically at the motion, gipping Felix’s hips like his life depends on it. Felix groans and repeats the action, rolling his hips down and feeling sweat drip down his neck as he pants, open-mouthed. “You’re gonna _ ruin _ me, Dimitri,” he drawls mindlessly, whining when Dimitri’s hips jerk up. “You’re so big, I –”

“Felix,” Dimitri hisses, hands coming off his waist and reaching up to tweak his nipples, and Felix chokes on a desperate noise as twinges of pleasure rush through him and mix with the feeling of being stretched out so well. “You take it so well, Felix. You’re so good, you’re so much.”

“Stop talking,” Felix says, groaning when he rolls his hips and feels his cock press up against his prostate with more force than he’d been expecting, vision going blurry. “Dimitri, please.”

“Look at you,” Dimitri says, helping Felix bounce up and down, “you’re drooling, Lix.”

Felix practically collapses on top of Dimitri and his boyfriend chuckles as he reaches out to grip Felix’s chin, thumbing at the corners of his mouth, turning his face into his for a kiss. It’s mostly just Felix gasping for much-needed air as Dimitri takes over for him, fucking up into him in short staccato bursts. “Fuck, _ shit_, I can’t, Dimitri, I can’t,” he babbles on thoughtlessly and Dimitri moans as he burries his face into Felix’s neck, hands smoothing over his skin like he can’t quite get enough.

Felix almost hates this, the push and pull they have, the way sex almost feels like a way to purify themselves of the blood on their hands. But he can’t find it in himself to care when he already feels so close and Dimitri’s fucking him so fast like this, hips snapping up and making Felix jerk forward and moan with every thrust. _ You’re evil_, he wants to say, but he doesn't because as much as he wants to hate Dimitri, as much as he _ used _ to, he can’t.

He really does love him. The thought is ugly and claws at his throat and makes him cum with the added help of Dimitri’s hand on his cock, spurting over their bodies as Felix mouths at Dimitri’s neck. He clenches tight like a vice grip around him and this is what pushes Dimitri over too, and Felix feels pleasure wrack his body as he feels Dimitri’s release coat his insides and watches Dimitri squeeze his lone eye shut as he clings on tight to Felix like he’s a lifeline. Maybe he is, he thinks drowsily as he pulls off his already softening cock while they both hiss at the overstimulation, flopping down next to Dimitri and groaning. But he’s far too tired to think about that right now.

“Should’ve made you wear a condom,” he mutters, grimacing when he feels cum start to leak out of his rim. 

Dimitri laughs tiredly and then reaches out to Felix’s hole, fingers pressing in lightly and stretching his rim out, and Felix whimpers involuntarily before groaning and slapping his hand away. “Sorry, sorry,” he says with a snicker, before his eyes soften. “I’m being serious when I say I love you though. Thank you for…doing all of this for me.”

“I’m not doing this for you,” Felix says, absentmindedly tracing a finger over a scar on Dimitri’s arm right above where he got grazed with a bullet today, doing his best to ignore the much-needed shower they both need to get. “I’m doing this for us. And because…I love you too, I guess. I won’t repeat myself.”

Dimitri laughs and throws an arm around Felix, dragging him close despite his protests that they should probably clean up because there’s cum on their chests and stomachs and in Felix’s fucking ass, for fuck’s sake. “No, you won’t,” he agrees. Dimitri is a criminal at heart, a modern-day monster in his own right. But so is Felix. This, he knows, they can agree with. “But I’ll remember it always.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally supposed to be a silly pwp fic with the whole criminal gang thing as background noise but then i was like... what if i elaborated? what if i did that
> 
> i'd love to write more in this universe but for now it's a standalone while i work on other stuff! talk to me on twitter (@_fraldarius) where i complain about how unfairly sexy sylvain is 24/7


End file.
